San Jose: Man arrested after fleeing police and causing wreck; drugs found in car

SAN JOSE -- A man fleeing from a traffic stop caused a multicar wreck in front of Kaiser San Jose Medical Center early Thursday, and officers found a "large amount" of illegal drugs in his car after his failed escape, according to San Jose police.

At about 7:20 a.m. an officer spotted a car with expired registration tags on Cottle Road near Rochester Avenue and switched on his patrol car's flashing lights to conduct a traffic stop, police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said. Instead of stopping, the vehicle sped away and ran a red light, prompting the officer to stop following out of safety concerns.

The speeding car continued southbound on Cottle, running more red lights before hitting another vehicle at Hospital Parkway, causing the struck vehicle to spin out and hit a third vehicle, Morales said. The fleeing driver climbed out of his vehicle and ran from the wreck, but was soon caught and arrested by police officers.

A woman driving the car hit by the suspect suffered moderate injuries, was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. The driver of the third car involved in the crash was not seriously injured.

The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Christopher Fulgar, was set to be booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, evasion and resisting arrest. He may face additional drug-related allegations after officers searched his car and found what police described as a "large amount" of narcotics, Morales said.